sub-sahara: important bullet points

A. Impact of Bantu immigration

• by 1000 CE: Bantu ppl settled in S/SC Africa

• by 500 BCE: Bantu mastery of iron metallurgy

• by 500 CE: bananas established throughout Africa

• change in relationship btw Bantu and forest dwellers

  • dwellers once seen as “guides,” overlooked upon emergence of Bantu-speaking societies

B. Pre-Arabization

• 1000 CE: start of organized sub-Saharan societies

• Kin based societies: many early Bantu societies, governed through kinship groups, usually grew to large proportions

• Kingdom of Kongo: most tightly centralized of its contemporaries

  • mid-17th cent: Portuguese slave trades undermined king and central authority

C. Common traits of sub-Saharan societies

• complex societies, clear social hierarchies

  • aristocratic rulers > religious authorities

    • small states: usually had arist. rulers, always had religious authorities

• communal ownership of land, families distributed harvests equally

• gender determined your job

• sub-Saharan women had higher status than women of other societies

• age grades: people of similar age did communal tasks deemed appropriate for their age

C. Sub-saharan societies: slavery

• common in sub-Sahara

• major form of personal wealth bc acquiring land was hard

  • owners gained wealth n social status

• demand for slaves → slave trading & making wars for potential slaves

  • wars started by larger states against smaller states

• Zanj revolt (869-883): slaves’ strong desire for freedom v. slave owners’ desire to uphold status quo

• Islamic slave trade (700-1500 CE): created high demand 4 slavery

D. Commonalities of sub-Saharan religions

• creator god: omnipotent and omniscient

• lesser deities & spirits: associated w/ natural features, subject of festivals

• diviners: medium between the supernatural and humans; religious specialists

E. Kingdom of Axum

• mid 4th cent: Christianity established in Axum

• modern-day Ethiopia

• late 7th cent: Axum ruling house and Christianity fell into decline

• 12th cent: revival of Christianity, remained strong to 16th cent

E. Kebra Nagast, carved-rock churches

• The Glory of Kings

• traced lineage of Ethiopian Solomonic kings to Israelite kings

• regained popularity in 20th cent

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• 12th cent, referenced pre-Christian Ethiopian architecture

F. Spread of Islam

• introduced to sub-Sahara in 7th and 8th cent via merchants

  • W. Africa: travel by camels through Sahara

  • E. Africa: through Ind. ocean

• camels: improved trans-Saharan trade and communication

• Islamic merchants established commercial relations w/ S.S societies while searching for gold

F. Kingdom of Ghana

• principle state of W. Africa @ time of Mus. arrival

• Koumbi-Sahel: capital

• by 10th cent: Ghana kings converted to Islam but still observed trad. religious customs

• controlled trans-Saharan trade of gold, hence wealth

• 13th cent: fell

  • expansion of Ghana made it vulnerable to attacks

G. Kilwa

• 11th & 12th cent: development of wealthy Swahili city-states through control of trade; one such was Kilwa

• 1300-1505: wealthy city-state

• 1331: Ibn Battuta reported presence of Muslim scholars

• imported luxuries (i.e. Indian and Chinese goods)

• late 15th cent: exported lots of gold via Ind. ocean

• the trade and wealth of Kilwa led to establishment of other powerful kingdoms in E&C.Africa

G. Great Zimbabwe

• capital of a powerful kingdom

• home of a great stone tower of the same name

• monarchs controlled trade of goods (i.e. ivory) & slaves btwn. interior and coastal regions through this city

G. Islam

• trade w/ Mus. merchants brough great pol. and cult. change

• ruling elite and merchants converted to Islam but kept traditions

  • closer cooperation w/ Mus. merchants

  • opened opportunities to alliances w/ Mus. states

• Islam spread to W. and E. Africa spread via cultural diffusion

H. Islam’s growth and Mansa Musa: Trade

• Trans-Saharan gold-salt trade made W. Africa wealthy

• collected tax on goods, esp. gold and salt

• used camels

H. Islam’s growth and Mansa Musa:: Mali

• arose in late 1200s, land area 2x of Ghana

• founder: Sundiata

  • gained control of gold mines and expanded land

  • Muslim and tolerant

• Mansa Musa (r. 1312 to 1337): king of Mali, Muslim

  • 1325: hajj to Mecca

  • wanted to incorporate Mus. culture, built mosques

H. Niani

• Mansa Musa’s capital

• entourage: >72000 people (→ M.M was powerful and rich)

• M.M gave alms to poor via. gold

H. Journey north and Cairo

• followed trade routes north through Sahara

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• very powerful city at the time

• ruled by Mamluk Sultan Al-Malik al-Nasir

• Musa more interested in Islam than Sultan

  • Sultan is offended; Musa compensates via gold

  • gave so much gold to the public that prices inflated

  • impressed W. European traders (short on gold)

H: Mecca, return to conquest

• Musa arrived; completed Hajj

  • wore ihram, performed tawaf, other Hajj. traditions

• he found that general Sagmandia conquered Gao and Timbuktu, which he visited on return trip

• built famous university @ Timbuktu